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CNN reports that in order to accommodate the needs of some its mental health patients, the Oregon Department of Human Services is soliciting the services of a Klingon language interpreter. Although an official claims that “We have to provide information in all the languages our clients speak,” I just can’t see this being that pressing a requirement. And what’s next, then? Elvish and Dwarvish “interpreters” for patients who have become trapped in their own Tolkienesque worlds? Rodian interpreters in case they come across patients that think that they’re Greedo the bounty hunter? You’ve got to draw the line somewhere, and I don’t think I’m being unreasonable in suggesting that we limit ourselves to terrestrial languages that aren’t MADE UP!

Update: Thankfully, this has turned out to be somewhat of a misunderstanding, as according to kuro5hin.org, “on a lark, purchasing officials in Multnomah County, Oregon, decided to make sure that Klingon-language interpreters could be paid by the county, just in case there ever was a need for one. So Klingon was granted official status as a language for the purpose of hiring an interpreter, on par with obscure foreign languages.” The post indicates that it was all done in a humorous vein, with the Elvish language also mentioned. I guess I’m more prescient than I thought…

There is some debate as to whether a “weblog purporting to be the journal of an anonymous heiress on the run from her wealthy family” is a hoax or not. On the face of things, I tend to think it is, but I have to admit that it has fished me in as I read from the beginning. Judge for yourself…

If the Washington Times story claiming that “The French government secretly supplied fleeing Iraqi officials with passports in Syria that allowed them to escape to Europe” ends up being true, then the United States needs to stop trying to appease France and start rethinking its status as an “ally.”

The BBC reports on a rare transit of Mercury across the Sun. Mercury is somewhat larger than the Moon, but it’s amazing how small it looks compared to the Sun, as the article points out:

Its smallness impresses two things upon you: the enormous size of the Sun and the vastness of the distances between the planets. Mercury was 91 million kilometres (57 million miles) away, the Sun 150 million km (93 million miles) – scales that dwarf human imagination yet are utterly insignificant in cosmic terms.

Escher Web Sketch is a nice applet that allows you to draw repeating patterns à la M.C. Escher through the use of different types of crystallographic symmetry. The page also has a couple of links to sites about M.C Escher, one of my favorite artists. I’m continually amazed at his work, especially at how he managed to master such complicated symmetries and perspectives and utilize them in creating such mesmerizing art.

Modern Drunkard Magazine is chock full of informative, hilarious articles, including “The Etiquette of Vomiting,” “Forty Ounces Of Fury,” and “The Zen Of Drinking Alone.”

The fourth animated episode of The Animatrix is out. Entitled “The Second Renaissance: Part 2,” this is the last episode before the release of The Matrix: Reloaded next Thursday. I can’t wait…

I think I’ve seen this before, although this Java Ski Jump Game Applet looks a little better than I remember. It’s a little challenging to get the controls down, but it reminds me of a combination of Commodore 64’s Winter Games and the CBS Wild World Of Sports “Agony Of Defeat” skier, so that was enough to capture my attention for a while… 🙂

I’d say that whatever moral high horse Bill Bennett sat on has just bucked him off, trampled him, and bitch-slapped him after the revelation that he has lost millions gambling. His response? “I play fairly high stakes. I adhere to the law. I don’t play the ‘milk money.’ I don’t put my family at risk, and I don’t owe anyone anything.” This rings very hollow coming from the man who wrote the morality screeds The Book of Virtues, The Broken Hearth: Reversing the Moral Collapse of the American Family, The Death of Outrage: Bill Clinton and the Assault on American Ideals, and Why We Fight: Moral Clarity and the War on Terrorism and who has preached his brand of conservative morality for years. His comparison of gambling to alcoholism is especially despicable and telling: “I view it as drinking. If you can’t handle it, don’t do it.”

Well, I’ve got some news for you, Bill: just because you’ve made millions of dollars through your so-called “morality” books and speeches doesn’t mean you can “handle it.” You’re a hypocritical gambling addict, and you’ve just lost any shred of credibility you once had. I am happy to admit that I have a major case of schadenfreude here, because he deserves every bit of fallout he gets over this.

Oh, and I can’t take credit for “The Bookie Of Virtue;” I got it from The Washington Monthly, although I so wish I had thought of it first.

According to The Digital Bits, The Adventures of Indiana Jones is finally due out on DVD in November, although it’s not showing up at amazon.com just yet. It’s about time…